From the President

By Mike Horsfield, PT, MBA

Dear Friends,

Rose. My favorite color of glasses. Lenses tinted with optimism, altruism, and innocence, through which there is a clear vision of everyone in every community receiving the care they need. An image of our budding profession stepping up to embrace the responsibility and opportunity to serve more people. Spectacles that illuminate and identify the dark and difficult obstacles so together we can remove them through thoughtful, comprehensive, and sustainable strategies.

Declining payment, escalating administrative burden, and restricted patient access is preventing people from receiving the care they deserve. Beams of light named Gabe, Cristina, APTA Pennsylvania, Bob, Janet, and countless others have used a recipe comprised of data, relationship capital and influence to enlighten decision makers to this reality, each time reversing bad policy that individually and collectively enriched the lives of their communities and the professionals who serve them.

Witnessing these impactful wins across multiple states brings both optimism and discomfort. The renewed hope that comes with winning accompanied by the internal distress from being wrong for too long. These individuals fighting for all of us don’t look like payment specialists; they look like me. They share the same physical therapy heart but simply chose to embrace difficult instead of placing blame. Letting go of my prior beliefs that this was “someone else’s job” and embracing that each of us play an important role in this battle is painful but necessary.

As our Payment Consortium with the Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy gains momentum, my glasses are getting rosier, and the vision forward clearer. So many people are stepping up to share their “wins,” their insight, their inspiration, and their time. All recognize that bending the current reality to one where it is progressively easier for us to care for our communities will not be easy but will be worth it. It will require a coordinated offensive strategy where we learn faster and multiply the “little” wins in shaping a new world. One where proper payment and unfettered access ensures you can take great care of your communities and your co-workers. If… we ALL choose to let go of what was and embrace what can be a rosier future.

Together…we got this!